Forget Stranger Things; it’s time to step into the Dark
With its ‘80s setting and supernatural storyline, Netflix’s Dark has been seen as Europe’s answer to Stranger Things. But this series deserves to be considered in its own right
When Netflix’s first original German series, Dark, launched in December 2017, it immediately drew comparisons to Stranger Things. Just like the hit US series, Dark features a hefty dose of ‘80s nostalgia, a gang of teens investigating a supernatural mystery, and adults with hidden agendas. But while The Duffer Brothers owe a debt to E.T. and The Goonies, Dark has more in common with Scandi noir than Spielberg.
As it’s name suggests, there is very little lightness in Dark. The setting, the fictional town of Winden, is surrounded by a dense forest and lies in the shadow of a nuclear power facility. It seems to be raining – or about to rain – 80% of the time, and the ominous soundtrack only serves to ramp up the tension.
The series begins in 2019 with the suicide of teenager Jonas Kahnwald’s father. This event, coupled with the sudden disappearance of police officer Ulrich Nielsen’s son Mikkel, brings to light the intertwined relationships and dark secrets of four local families – the Kahnwalds, Nielsens, Dopplers and Tiedermanns. The action flits between 1953, 1986, and 2019, slowly revealing a complex web of lies that implicates all four families in the case of the missing children.
To say much more would be venturing into spoiler territory, but it’ll come as no surprise that, as secrets are revealed, the families start to fall apart. And despite the fact that this is a supernatural sci-fi drama, the storylines centred on familial relationships are often more intriguing than the central mystery. Grief, repressed sexuality, bullying, and the tensions between different generations are all explored.
Even the sci-fi elements have roots in reality. Okay, so the existence of a time-travelling wormhole in tunnels beneath the power plant may be pure sci-fi, but the motivations of those investigating and using it are realistic. Whether they’re using it to find a loved one, to explore the possibilities of science or to sate religious fervour, the characters’ reasoning is clear.
To call this complex time-travelling epic as a German Stranger Things is to do it a great disservice. Dark is a far more challenging watch, but it embraces its complexities and expects the audience to keep up. As episodes jump between times and we meet the same characters at different stages of their lives, you might find yourself pausing and re-watching scenes to keep everything straight – it’s well worth the extra effort, I promise.
Even so, with 10 episodes, Dark’s first season suffers – like many Netflix dramas – with a slightly saggy middle that could have been tightened up with a shorter episode order. However, it looks like this will be addressed in the second season, which is rumoured to have an eight episode run.
Similarly, the sheer number of characters competing for airtime means that some could do with more fleshing out. The adult characters benefit from the time-shifting format, as we’re able to match their adolescent experiences with their actions as adults. Unfortunately, the teens of 2019, aside from Jonas, feel more like sketches than fully formed characters – and generally unlikeable sketches at that.
Even so, Dark proves that a series doesn’t have to simplify its complexities or shy away from darkness in order to be binge-worthy. In fact, the series makes the most of streaming culture by leaning into its complicated storyline in a way that a traditional weekly serial couldn’t. It would be easy to disconnect and lose track of the different characters and times if you had a week’s breathing space between episodes. With this one, just like Jonas in the tunnels, it’s best to go all in. Dive into Dark and you won’t be disappointed.